MTA hit with suit over L train shutdown by worried West Side residents

Residents fear buses, street closures, bike lanes and limiting car traffic on 14th St. will disrupt “the fabric of their neighborhood,” according to the complaint. (Aaron Showalter/for New York Daily News)

West Siders are suing to keep the L train from shutting down, a year ahead of the closure the MTA has planned to allow it to repair a critical East River subway tunnel.

The lawsuit from a coalition of West Side neighborhood groups says they fear the "fabric of their neighborhood disrupted" from buses, street closures, bike lanes, and limiting car traffic on 14th St., according to the complaint.

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The 48-page federal suit against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and city Department of Transportation seeks to halt the closure and funding to the repair project, arguing the agencies never completed a required environmental study. The Federal Transit Administration is also named in the suit because it is funding the project.

"There will be massive traffic jams, going down Fifth, up Sixth, down Seventh, up Eighth, and on all the side streets," said Arthur Schwartz, the groups' attorney.

Schwartz and representatives from community groups suing the transit agencies offered a parade of horribles for life in the Village under the L train shutdown, such as throngs of bicyclists on 13th St., restricted access for emergency services and congestion.

"These plans were designed only with the commuters in mind. We're commuters, we take subways to work, we empathize," Judy Pesin, co-chair of the 14th Street Coalition, said.

"Our communities will be impacted 24/7."

Disability groups decided to join the legal fight after Schwartz informed the agencies he planned to sue over the lack of environmental study.

The MTA plans to close the Canarsie tunnel on the L line in April 2019 for a 15-month job to fix the damage from Hurricane Sandy. (William Mathis/AP)

The disability groups argue the agencies are violating the Americans With Disabilities Act because only two of the closed L line stations will get an elevator.

"Considering the fact that 22% of stations are accessible, this would be a major, major increase towards accessibility," Edith Prentiss, president of Disabled in Action, a plaintiff.

The MTA plans to close the Canarsie tunnel on the L line in April 2019 for a 15-month job to fix the damage from Hurricane Sandy. The MTA and DOT collaborated on a travel alternative plan for 275,000 commuters that includes vehicle restrictions on 14th St. to make way for buses and a bike lane on 13th St.

MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein declined comment on the suit, but emphasized the repairs to the Canarsie tunnel are "desperately needed."

City Department of Transportation officials said a formal environmental-impact study is not required and that the agencies are complying with all regulations.

"We don't think the suit has merit," DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said. "We think that the city and the MTA have done the appropriate due diligence and environmental work here."